TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Congress workers have sent a loud and clear message to the party high command –consider people from the party organization when you are dishing out posts, promotions or party tickets. While Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Luizinho Faleiro has clearly underlined that he wants “young people to join and revitalise the party.”
Deliberating on organizational issues, the Shibir has realized that the party has not been able to attract fresh talent and the party has made the search for new, young and fresh political talent, its topmost priority, to take the Congress organization forward.
According to Luizinho no amount of review, reinterpretation, reinvention and reaffirmation can take the party to the final goal of strengthening and consolidating the Congress organization, unless fresh blood is injected into the grand old party.
The All India Congress Committee general Secretary Digvijaya Singh too underlined the fact that the youth should be given a chance, arguing that the Congress believed in giving youth a chance. Citing examples, including that of himself, Singh said that he got his first big responsibility at the age of 39.
The Shibir also sought to show that the ideology of the Congress party “is completely harmonious” with the basic principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution and resolved to give its full commitment to the preamble, the fundamental rights and the directive principles.
The Constitution noted the problems created due to the disconnect between the Congress leaders and party workers and also on the issue that some leaders are shifting the focus to themselves and reducing the focus on the party.
The Shibir also admitted that there was a wide gap in members, party and leaders and wanted that a systematic coordination mechanism should be put into place to ensure a connect between the party, legislators and workers.
In a backdoor admission, the Shibir also stressed on how the party workers should – through different kinds of activities and communications channel – strongly propagate the party’s core values and ideology “along with its contribution and role in our freedom struggle and making of this great nation to the masses, specifically the youth.”
It also pushed for better coordination between the PCC and the frontal organisation and also getting talent from every walk of life and establishing cells such as Legal, Economy, Goan NRI, Education, Vigilance and R&D cells.
The Shibir, realizing the beating the party had taken in the media war in the last two elections, wanted its cadre to “utilize the media” properly to pass on the party’s message to the people and also identify people who can write in the print media.
It also wanted that a media cell be set up and “right and efficient people” be inducted into it after training.
It also wants representatives and spokespersons to be well prepared before debates and adhere to party line instead of portraying their personal views.
Also the party has woken up to the social media phenomenon with the Shibir wanting special focus to be laid on social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.
The deliberations were many, the messages received even more, and on the face of it, it was a good exercise. However, what comes out of it and the way forward, only time will tell.
